Related papers: Three new stable L5 Mars Trojans
Mars is the only terrestrial planet known to have Tro jan (co-orbiting) asteroids, with a confirmed population of at least 4 objects. The origin of these objects is not known; while several have orbits that are stable on solar-system…
The last few months have seen the discovery of a second Martian Trojan (1998 VF31), as well as two further possible candidates (1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4). Together with the previously discovered Martian satellite 5261 Eureka, these are the…
Context. Trojan asteroids of Mars date from an early phase of solar system evolution. Based on a sample of <10 asteroids, MT distribution has been previously shown to be both asymmetric and inhomogeneous with population evolution dominated…
We report on the discovery of new Martian Trojans within the Minor Planet Center list of asteroids. Their orbital evolution over 10^8 yr shows characteristic signatures of dynamical longevity (Scholl et al, 2005) while their average orbits…
Context. Known Mars trojans could be primordial small bodies that have remained in their present-day orbits for the age of the Solar System. Their orbital distribution is strongly asymmetric; there are over a dozen objects at the L5 point…
Trojan asteroids are minor planets that share the orbit of a planet about the Sun and librate around the L4 or L5 Lagrangian points of stability. They are important solar-system fossils because they carry information on early Solar System…
We observed the Mars Trojan asteroids (5261) Eureka and (101429) 1998 VF31 and the candidate Mars Trojan 2001 FR127 at 11.2 and 18.1 microns using Michelle on the Gemini North telescope. We derive diameters of 1.28, 0.78, and <0.52 km,…
Seven of the nine known Mars Trojan asteroids belong to an orbital cluster named after its largest member 5261 Eureka. Eureka is likely the progenitor of the whole cluster, which formed at least 1 Gyr ago. It was suggested that the thermal…
We explore the hypothesis that the Eureka family of sub-km asteroids in the L5 region of Mars could have formed in a collision. We estimate the size distribution index from available information on family members; model the orbital…
The Earth Trojans are co-orbitals librating around the Lagrange points $L_4$ or $L_5$ of the Sun-Earth system. Although many numerical studies suggest that they can maintain their dynamical status and be stable on timescales up to a few…
We investigate the mineralogy of L5 Martian Trojan asteroids via reflectance spectroscopy, in particular (101429) 1998 $\mbox{VF}_{31}$, the only L5 Trojan that does not belong to the Eureka family (Christou, 2013). We find that this…
Jupiter Trojan asteroids are located around L4 and L5 Lagrangian points on relatively stable orbits, in 1:1 MMR with Jupiter. However, not all of them lie in orbits that remain stable over the age of the Solar System. Unstable zones allow…
The population of Neptune Trojans is believed to be bigger than that of Jupiter Trojans and that of asteroids in the main belt, although only eight members of this far distant asteroid swarm have been observed up to now. Six leading Neptune…
In the outer Solar system, primordial Trojan asteroids may have remained dynamically stable for billions of years. Several thousands of them accompany Jupiter in its journey around the Sun and a similarly large population may be hosted by…
The stability of eight nominal fictitious Uranus Trojan orbits over the age of the Solar system has been measured. The initial inclinations, i0, were 0 deg., 5 deg., 15 deg., and 30 deg. relative to the ecliptic plane. Initial…
Trojan asteroids are minor planets that share the orbit of a planet about the Sun and librate around the L4 or L5 Lagrangian points of stability. Although only three Mars Trojans have been discovered, models suggest that at least ten times…
Both Earth and Mars host populations of co-orbital minor bodies. A large number of present-day Mars co-orbitals is probably associated with the fission of the parent body of Mars Trojan 5261 Eureka (1990 MB) during a rotation-induced YORP…
Earth Trojan Asteroids are an important but elusive population that co-orbit with Earth at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points. There is only one known, but a large population is theoretically stable and could provide insight into our solar…
We explore the hypothesis that the population of Martian Trojans is the result of a balance between the production of new asteroids ("YORPlets") through the YORP effect and their eventual escape from the Trojan clouds through…
The Neptune Trojans are the most recently discovered population of small bodies in the Solar System. To date, only eight have been discovered, though it is thought likely that the total population at least rivals that of the asteroid belt.…